HOBOKEN , N.J. – Professor H. Quynh Dinh, from Stevens Institute of Technology s Computer Science department, has been awarded a Honda Initiation Grant sponsored by the Honda Research Institute (http://www.honda-ri.com/HRI_Us/about-us/honda-initiation-grant) for her proposal, "Detecting Patterns in Vector Fields." The award is for $50,000 over one year with the possibility of extended funding past the initial year. The grant is designed to foster new relationships between university faculty and Honda researchers and is an example of industry-academia partnership. The proposal required a five-year research plan that involves Honda research groups. Only 2% of applicants were selected, for a total of six recipients.
Dinh's research is about exploring the classical problems of pattern matching, clustering and classification in a new domain to which these problems have not been addressed – namely, vector fields.
Detecting patterns in vector fields will become increasingly crucial as computational methods for simulating fluid dynamics (CFD), sensor technology for dynamic data and video surveillance increase in accuracy and ubiquity. In automotive engine design, engineers would like to compare simulated in-cylinder flow to an ideal swirl leading to optimal mixing of air and fuel and a more efficient combustion process. Tracking and optical flow of video data generate vector fields that urban planners can use to find patterns in the flow of traffic and people.
Weather-monitoring sensors provide data such as wind and water velocity, and detecting patterns in such data will help scientists understand how these phenomena have changed over time.
Honda was particularly interested in Dinh's research on analysis that can lead to improved engine design and traffic management. Over the next several years, Dinh and her students will conduct an in-depth study into how patterns can be detected in vector fields embedded in complex domains and on simulated and recorded data via collaborations with researchers in automotive and ocean engineering and medical imaging.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master's and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens' graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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